


Traditions Told Through Time

by GumsandWattle_24



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:41:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28315446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GumsandWattle_24/pseuds/GumsandWattle_24
Summary: - Tolkien Secret Santa Gift Exchange -1403 word count.   2020(Sorry its not the best, its my first writen fic)
Relationships: Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	Traditions Told Through Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [humancorn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/humancorn/gifts).



> Please note that I am not an expert in any of the holiday traditions mentioned and am only educating my writing through what it have tried to learn online. I wanted to attempt to stick tothe canonically predicted religions of Dwarves and Hobbits and am greviously sorry if I offend anyone with my ignorence, please contact me and I will fix the errors I have made. This is by no means an educational fic, but just one i wanted to write for fun and to give as a gift.  
> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

This life is long. Old.

It has been said that the world you may know as ‘Middle Earth’ is as ancient as time, and by relation I suppose that I am of that classification as well. For I know near nothing of the time before my creation, yet everything of the time afterwards.   
By the hands of my father, the creator, I was given the great purpose of observing all that is and all that occurs. Not, of course, as an overwatching deity of mass power like my later brothers and sisters of the Valar, nor as a physical body or protector able to personally interact within the world itself like my brothers of the Maiar, but as the spirit of Arda itself.  
It is in saying this that I am, in a sense, all. I am the mountains as they grow and the sky that they reach for. I am the valleys and the plains, and I am the rivers that run to the sea.  
But I digress.

Father continued to create as the ages progressed, with myself and my brethren as his doting observers.  
As the eldest I was entrusted with ensuring the physical plain was well prepared and maintained, and for watching over the progress of his mortal progeny, the peoples of elves and of men. 

However, it seemed that he was not the only being with the power to create, should the existence of Aule’s Dwarrow and Yavanna’s Halflings, among the creations of the other Valar, not to mention my own creation of the elements and the animals be any indicator.

In this tangent of mine, the purpose for its unraveling is to highlight a note.

Throughout all my years, none have enticed my curiosity such as the peoples inhabiting the lands of Arda who, unlike my own children, have become creators among themselves through the image and influence of their makers.

Whilst the animals and elements may have minds of their own and may work together or against each other in the greater ecosystem, peoples of Elves, Men, Dwarrow, and of Halflings have created diversely advanced and cultured societies capable of peace and of war.

It is in their evolution and interactions amongst each other that they truly astonish me. For I have seen their traditions and cultures evolve, and I have seen the values they hold as the result of being made in the valars' image, but I also note their ability to adapt and derive from the values or traditions of their creators. 

Yet their greatest achievements are the relationships grown amongst each other in times of necessity, such as those within the recent centuries. 

This may or may not coincide with the amusing schemes of my younger maiar brother Olorin, largely in his attempts of thwarting the disciples of Morgoth and, of course, as an act of his self proclaimed skill at ‘match-making’.

Amongst all of his efforts to fulfill the role of protector of ‘Middle Earth’ and her peoples, it may be noted that he has, in the past, found the most success within situations containing both a dire journey to liberate peaceful peoples from great evil or oppression, and at least one, if not many, unwitting lovesick fools in need of a little push. Perhaps more of a shove. 

One such journey was his ‘adventure’ amongst the company of king under the mountain in exile, Thorin Oakenshield. Olorin, being a man of many names, utilized his identity as a wizard in the form of an elderly man under the name of ‘Gandalf’.

In retrospect, I must say that I almost pity any bachelor or bachelorette that crosses his path, especially those among the halflings, as their participation within his master plans is more often than not reluctant and abrupt in the beginning. This is not to mention his lack of transparency with party members, leaving them unawares of the great importance or danger of their quest.

One such soul would be known as Master Bilbo Baggins, prior resident ‘burglar’ of Thorin Oakenshield’s company of dwarrow. Being a well bred ‘gentle hobbit’, descending from two noble families, amongst a band of thirteen seemingly unruly dwarrow, and on a perilous mission to steal from a dragon did not find Master Baggins well accommodated to his company nor life on the road.

However, I am shocked by the resilience of Arda’s peoples yet again. For as the company drew nearer to their destination, and closer bonds grew among them with each new peril, the cultures of each peoples interviewed and yet shone clearer than before. This is particularly evident after the events leading to the company's descent from the carrock and amongst their stay at the great bear ‘Beorn’s’. What I observed on one noteworthy day tells the tale of a soon to be successful match on my brothers behalf.

Bilbo had become, in some way, adopted by the Dwarven company with the acceptance of him by their King, Thorin. Yet there were still many things he had to learn of the customs of the Dwarrow, and the Dwarrow of the customs of the Halflings. In such a situation, it is only reasonable to assume that some misunderstandings may occur.

Enjoying a quiet afternoon sat amongst the company in the home of Beorn, Bilbo wondered at the strange behaviours of his friends the last few days since arriving at their new found safe haven.

Seven nights ago Thorin had approached their host to request permission to make use of metal and wax, amongst other equipment. Later he returned with a newly crafted item, such as Master Baggins had never seen. A candle holder it seemed, yet when the main body leading from its foot reached the point where a candle would be held, he was bewildered to find that there was not one, but eight. Why one would need that many candles lit in the one space, Bilbo did not know.

Each night since, the leader had lit one candle, claiming it to be a tradition. One which Bilbo happily observed. Interesting too were the actions of each company member two nights ago, the night of the sixth candle. Each member, in his own time, approached their host and inquired about the use of certain materials and tools. All members offered the full amounts of coinage on their person as compensation, but when told that payment was not necessary due to their need to preserve funds, they relented with promises to reimburse once the treasure was reclaimed. 

All the while, the Hobbit had racked his brains for any resemblance of these traditions and odd occurrences in contrast with that of his own people. 

Since childhood, as was tradition, he and his family had celebrated Yuletide. Each winter solstice his family lay out a Yule log to burn for twelve days, fueled by the remains of the last, and within the centre of Hobbiton the party tree was decorated with thousands of bright lights.

It seemed that there were some similarities between the two cultures, being that the Dwarrow too decorated a tree of lights. Yet Bilbo had never seen their eight candle holder, and they in turn had never burnt a Yule Log.

On the eighth and final night of their Dwarven celebration, all were gathered to watch the final candle be lit. With the fire of Beorn’s hearth roaring in the background, gifts were exchanged.

The Burglar and the King were sat side by side, and a gift exchanged from the later to the former. A set of old hair beards, made by Thorin in his youth and carried as all Dwarves do throughout his lives to someone of great importance to him.

Though the Hobbit did not know of the implications this gift held, nor of the significance behind allowing his friend to braid them into his hair, he still fell to a peaceful sleep beside him, surrounded by the family they had grown.

Certainly, they were not the first to share sacred traditions between a love from another race, nor were they the last. But the story of the king and his burglar proves to show that the peoples of middle earth are far greater than they think themselves to be, perhaps even greater than the Valar themselves. For they create not only life amongst their kin and society, but have the nature to expand and accept others for their differences as well.


End file.
